Sunday, 13 May 2018

Experts Decry Stigma Against Women With Infertility

* As ‘Merck More Than A Mother’ Campaign Debuts In
Nigeria

By Chioma Umeha

There was serious outrage by many people across
the world when the news broke recently over a husband in Kenya who hacked his
wife’s hands off with a machete for failing to conceive after seven years of
marriage – though he was impotent.

Jackline Mwende was brutally slashed byher husband, Stephen Ngila, 34,at her home in Masii, Machakos County
after he told her ‘Today is your last day.’

Mwende, 27, was also left with horrific injuries
to her head. The case had sparked outrage in Kenya.

Mwende who is now being supported by “Merck More
than a Mother” initiative to empower and enable her to become an independent
productive member in society throughout the rest of her life represent millions
of African women with similar tragedy.

Winifred (not real name) graduate,married in 2005 at the age of 27,
to her seemingly heartthrob in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory
(FCT). She engaged in various forms of petty-trading ranging from selling
soft-drinks, ice-blocks, moi-moi among others to support her husband, Tony, an
applicant then.

Ten years later, she was subjected to brutalising
treatments by her husband for failure to conceive. Tony, who later started
working in a blue-chip government parastatal, labelled Winifred all sorts of
names, and even accused her of being a witch that eats up the babies in her
womb.

Despite medical test confirmation that Tony was
infertile, he abandoned Winifred in the hospital after a tumour surgery,
married a second wife, fled from their home and moved into a new apartment in
an undisclosed area.

Similarly, Agnes Ubani, 29, after eight years of
marriage with her husband, Nath, both were based in Enugu state, East of
Nigeria, lost almost all her teeth and one eye toincessant battering from the later because of failure to
become pregnant.

There are millions of Nigerian women suffering
various forms of abusive for their inability to conceive.In most cases, it is for no fault of
theirs, even when their male partners could be impotent or having other
infertility problems.

A recent statistics by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) says more than 180 million couples (one in every four
couples) in developing countries suffer from primary or secondary infertility.
WHO says infertility in Africa is caused by infections in over 85 per cent
women compared to 33 per cent worldwide which emphasize the importance of
prevention programmes in Africa.

In view of this, the world’s foremost
pharmaceutical and chemical company, Merck, has launched the Nigerian version
of “Merck More than a Mother,” an initiative aimed at combating infertility and
the stigmatization associated with it in the country.

The launch which took place first in Lagos and
then in Abuja, brought together women leaders, policy makers, parliamentarians,
academics, fertility experts among others to chart the way forward towards
combating, identifying and implementing strategies to improve access to
effective, safe and regulated fertility care in Nigeria and to define
interventions to decrease social suffering arising from infertility and
childlessness.

Speaking at the launch, in Lagos, Chief Social
Officer, Merck, Dr. Rasha Kelej, said: “Merck More than a Mother” initiative is
imperative in Africa as the consequences of infertility are much more dramatic
in developing countries and can create more wide ranging social and cultural
problems compared to Western societies, particularly for women.

According to Kelej, “A central difficulty
associated with infertility is that it can transform from an acute, private
distress into a harsh, public stigma with complex and devastating consequences.

“In some cultures, childless women still suffer
discrimination, stigma and ostracism. An inability to have a child or to become
pregnant can result in being greatly isolated, disinherited or assaulted. This
may result in divorce or physical and psychological violence.

“Through the “Merck More than a Mother”
initiative, all stakeholders together including women leaders, policy makers,
parliamentarians, academia, fertility experts, community and media will
challenge the perception of infertile women.”

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen.
Lanre Tejuosho confirmed: “It’s a fact that out of four Nigerian couples, we
have a couple with infertility challenges. This statistics means that
infertility needs urgent attention and we need to focus on how we can make
health institutions accessible for infertility management.

“Most importantly, there is a lot of stigma
against women with infertility challenges in Nigeria. We want to stop it. We
also want to increase the advocacy against the notion that it is only women
that suffer infertility.

“People must know that 50 per cent of infertility
issues are caused by men. We want to let the men to have the courage and also
they must come out together with their wives, to seek treatment and to ensure
that the focus on women must be directed accordingly, and not a misplaced
direction. So, it is more about awareness and education.”

Tejuosho announced: “Currently, there is an
introduction in the National Assembly, an Assisted Reproduction Technology
Bill, to ensure the law guiding technology of IVF, as well as fertility
intervention and surrogacy is well guarded, so that the owner of the sperm or
the womb will be the father or mother of the child and not the surrogate
mother.”

Tejuosho added that there are also many other laws
coming up that will tackle the issues of inheritance for mothers that are
childless or have just females as children.

Similarly, infertility advocate and member Kenyan
Parliament, Hon. Joyce Lay disclosed that what inspired her to lead the
campaign against stigmatising women with infertility issues in Kenya and Africa
was because she had a personal experience, having had difficulty having a child
after she got married.

Lay said: “I was pregnant at an early stage, and
going to give birth in hospitals not equipped resulted to child birth
complications for me. Later on, I developed problems with my Fallopian tube and
had to undergo surgery. Later on, I had more complications which led to heavy
bleedings and closure of my cervix. This led to another surgery of removing my
womb.

“I couldn’t carry my child myself, so, when I got
the opportunity to get to the Kenyan parliament, I started advocating for
education, creation of awareness, prevention and treatment for infections.

“This is because most men and women with
infertility issues are caused by untreated infectious diseases.

“So, lack of information, as well as lack of
access to better medical and healthcare services contributes largely to cases
of infertility in Africa. As a member of parliament, I discover in Africa,
governments commit funds in the budget for family planning programmes, but none
for infertility.

Meanwhile, as part of its efforts to take the
advocacy message across the country, Merck has also partnered with Future
Assured, the pet-project of wife of Senate President, Toyin Saraki. Recall that
the “Merck More than a Mother” campaign had successfully been launched in
Kenya, Uganda, among other sub-Saharan African countries.

Mrs. Chioma Adanma Umeha is a journalist of over two decades experience. At the moment, she is the Health Editor of Newswatch Times, Lagos, Nigeria.
A graduate of Mass Communications from Anambra State University, Enugu, she also holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos.

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About Me

Mrs. Chioma Adanma Umeha is a journalist of over two decades experience. At the moment, she is the Health Editor of Newswatch Times, Lagos, Nigeria.
A graduate of Mass Communications from Anambra State University, Enugu, she also holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos.